PROGRES.ID- On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, TikTok officially closed its e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, at 5:00 PM WIB. This means that consumers can no longer make purchases through TikTok Shop. But what will happen to the traders or “sellers” who used to operate on TikTok Shop?
Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan (Mendag Zulhas), has stated that sellers active on TikTok Shop have been asked to relocate their businesses to other e-commerce platforms.
“(Local sellers) Yes, they should move, to Shopee or other e-commerce platforms that are willing to accommodate them,” Mendag Zulhas recently stated.
Mendag Zulhas also pointed out that many e-commerce platforms now offer live sales services. This means that TikTok Shop sellers who used to conduct live sales can utilize similar features on these e-commerce platforms.
“Those who used to do live selling can also do it on e-commerce platforms. Those options are available,” said Mendag Zulhas.
Meanwhile, Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (MenKop-UKM), Teten Masduki, believes that the separation between TikTok Shop and TikTok Social Media will not actually harm traders or sellers. Menkop Teten believes that with this separation, TikTok Social Media can focus more on promotion, while sales can be conducted through other means such as WhatsApp, online stores, or other platforms according to the sellers’ preferences.
“It can still promote content on TikTok Social Media, and it’s even better because there won’t be any shadow banning. Sales can be directed straight to WhatsApp, online stores, landing pages, or wherever the sellers prefer,” Menkop Teten wrote through his personal Instagram account @tetenmasduki_.
As a result of these changes, TikTok Shop sellers are expected to continue their businesses and thrive on other e-commerce platforms while taking advantage of various features and conveniences offered by these platforms.
